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The Los Angeles Lakers are extremely serious about making Dwight Howard prove himself this upcoming season.
According to ESPN's Bobby Marks, Howard's contract with the Lakers has zero salary protection, meaning that he will be paid per day starting on October 21 and will get nothing once he is waived.
The contract that Dwight Howard will sign in LAL is called a “summer contract” because it has $0 salary protection (comparable to Anthony Bennett in Houston). Howard will earn $14,490 for every day he is on the roster. The per day clock will start on Oct. 21.
— Bobby Marks (@BobbyMarks42) August 26, 2019
Moreover, the Lakers will only owe Howard $6,000 if he gets injured before the regular season.
LAL will likely insert an Exhibit 9 in his contract that will protect the team if Howard suffers an injury during training camp. LAL would only be on the hook for $6K if Howard is injured and waived before the reg. season. https://t.co/6tU6isMX6A
— Bobby Marks (@BobbyMarks42) August 26, 2019
LA knows the injury history of Howard and given the fact that they will be paying the injured DeMarcus Cousins $3.5 million, they have all the reason to make sure they don't spend any extra money on someone who can't stay healthy.
Still, Howard probably knew this from the start. At this point, he just wants to redeem himself to the Lakers organization and prove to the rest of the league that he can still play at an elite level when healthy.
Howard met with Laker players Anthony Davis, Rajon Rondo and JaVale McGee before he agreed to return with the team, and apparently, those guys are convinced that the three-time Defensive Player of the Year is serious about helping them win a championship. Dwight has also been working out to stay in shape, even claiming that he has already lost 25 pounds this summer.
Everyone is hopeful that Howard's second stint with the Lakers will end up being a good one this time around, but in case it doesn't, the team has nothing to lose.
